This is one of the agendas that GMs will vote on in the current meetings (story.news.yahoo.com)

I'm not sure how they would be able to define what type of play is replayable. While in theory it is nice to be able to correct a foul ball/fair ball call, I can't imagine how it would work in practice.

If a fair ball is called foul, then the play stops. How would going to replay correct that instance? It's not like other sports where the play will continue & you can correct it at the end of a play. You can't "correct" a ball that is called foul unless it's a home run. I can't imagine how they would be able to implement the Instant Replay in baseball...

I umpire little league and Legion games (going for my PIAA patch as soon as I get time), and the human element is slowly being taken out of Major League Baseball. I think the Quest-tec system proved that umpires were getting ball/strike calls right most of the time, and I think they've done a very good job most of the time. Replay would make long games longer, and only home run balls being reviewed would make a difference. I can't imagine what you would do with a guy on first and a reversed call making a line drive down the right field line a fair ball. Does the guy on first go home? Is it umpire's discretion? Nobody knows how fast or slow an outfielder would get to the ball, if he boots it, etc...

On the other hand, during one of the first games that I umpired, I called a foul ball on a ball that everybody thought went out of the park fair. Of course, this field had two foul poles in right field (they literally moved the field like 5 feet to the right) and I don't remember which pole I was looking at. I still wonder if I made the right call. Of course, the 4th grader who hit it told me to get my head out of my ass, so I didn't feel as bad calling the little bastard's ball foul. It sucks to have runs taken off of the board because of a bad call. I've always been of the opinion that during the course of a season it all evens out, however.

This is an awful idea, and the people who bring it in to baseball deserves censure.

Originally posted by Roy.Of course, the 4th grader who hit it told me to get my head out of my ass, so I didn't feel as bad calling the little bastard's ball foul. It sucks to have runs taken off of the board because of a bad call.

Please tell me you ejected him...

The Left, the base of the Democratic Party, hail the virtues of tolerance and consider themselves to be the tolerant citizens of America. In their touting of tolerance they express their obvious disdain for those whose views run contrary to that of enlightened Liberalism.

Dare to make a statement of conviction of any kind, and one of these Leftists will set down his cheese and wine, pause his lecture on the virtues of plurality and the absurdity of the belief in absolute Truth, and tell you your convictions -- everything you believe and hold dear -- are absolutely wrong. Where does he get his understanding that what you claim is "right" is actually not? Against what standard is this wrongness measured? He can't say. All he knows is that you're a bigot, you're intolerant, you're not worthy of being an American. In fact, you're not smart enough to understand what it means to be an American.

And not only are you dumb, you're dangerous. Fanatics like you don't belong in a "tolerant" culture like ours. You and your beliefs and the people who share them should not be allowed in our civilized society . . . or, at the very least, you should be denied the right to vote. Because when you vote, when you're politically active, you screw everything up. -Chris Field, Human Events, 11/5/04

I kinda liked how the umpires have tackled controversial calls lately (and, in particular, during the ALCS). If the play was really debatable or uncertain, all of the officials got together and helped each other out on what they saw. In each case, the right call wound up being made, too. This sounds like a much better idea than drawing out prolonged games even more with consulting new technology or potentially leaving the playing field to review calls.

I also hope it NEVER comes to having balls and strikes up for debate. That should remain the sole discretion of the home plate umpire, and instead of complaining players, coaches, and fans should just learn to adjust and live with it. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," as they say. Imagine the anarchy if every borderline pitch or check-swing were up for grabs.

I just heard that the GM's voted this down, which I'm sure should come to a shock to no one. Selig is supposedly dead-set against it, so thats the last we will probably hear about that. I still hadn't figured out how it would be implemented. Oh well, its all academic now...